Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said on the 28th local time that 76 new people died after suspected of taking Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Company's health products containing red yeast rice ingredients. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that Kobayashi Pharmaceutical did not report the latest information it had in a timely manner, which is regrettable, and that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare will be directly responsible for future investigations into the deaths.
Officials from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare entered the factory of a subsidiary of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on March 31 to conduct inspections. Source: Xinhua News Agency
According to Japanese media reports on the 28th, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare asked Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on the 13th whether there were any new related deaths, and Kobayashi Pharmaceutical replied that there were none, but on the 14th, it changed its words and said that "there are such cases", but the specific number of people was not reported to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare until the 27th.
According to the press release issued by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on the 28th, the company received consultations from the families of 170 deceased consumers, of which 76 deceased had taken the company's red yeast rice health products before their deaths, but whether there was a causal relationship between their deaths and this is still under investigation.
According to the communiqué, the direct causes of death of the 76 deceased included not only kidney-related diseases, but also cancer, cerebral infarction, pneumonia and other diseases. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has instructed Kobayashi Pharmaceutical to report as soon as possible the duration and dosage of the deceased's red yeast rice supplements.
In recent months, many people in Japan have been hospitalized or even died of kidney disease after taking Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's red yeast rice-containing supplements. After analyzing the health products and the red yeast rice ingredients used, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Company found that there were mold-derived ingredients in its self-produced red yeast rice ingredients.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare previously said that Penicillic acid and some other "unexpected substances" were found in the problematic red yeast rice raw materials produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical. Researchers are analyzing the specific composition of the substance and why it is present in the red yeast rice raw material.
Akihiro Kobayashi (second from left), president of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, and relevant officials bow at a press conference on March 29. Source: Xinhua News Agency
Affected by related news, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's share price fell sharply before the close of trading on the 28th, closing down 7.03% throughout the day.
In addition, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical announced that it will establish a new "Compensation Response Division" to deal with health problems caused by health products containing red yeast rice. Kobayashi will compensate consumers who are suspected of developing symptoms after taking these health supplements.
According to CCTV News